A Literal Shadow
by darcpython
Summary: Misako grieves after her husband is banished to the underworld.


Misako was lying down, staring blankly at the ceiling. To her left, a crib, with a sleeping baby boy. To her right, a shelf, with captured memories of lost love.  
A picture of them, as children, reading together. The first time they really bonded.  
A picture of the park where he asked her to be together forever.  
A picture of him in a suit and her in a white dress, the day that made them one.  
The last picture, of him, her, and her brother-in-law, none of them knowing it would be the last.

Garmadon had been by her side for so long. Misako knew he would not be around for the forever that he promised, and that he would eventually fall to the darkness. But she wanted to be there. She wanted to say goodbye.

He was there with her for so long. He became a vital part of her life, something she could never imagine living without. And now he was gone, and she was alone. Reality had crept up behind them until it swallowed him whole.

Wu returned, after hiding the sword of fire. He told Misako that her lost husband was able to communicate with the outside world there, but only as a shadow of himself. He said this like it was bad news, like it was a warning. Though Misako thought the opposite.  
She picked up her infant child. Shadow or not, Lloyd still needed to meet his father.  
She did not tell Wu she was leaving. He would never let her go visit him after what happened.  
With a lantern in one arm, her child in the other, and everything she needed for the night's trip on her back, she made her way down the mountain steps, through the dark woods, and arrived at the temple.  
The dragon did not stop her from entering. She the dragon must have recognized her, and did not see her as a threat to the sword. Flame was her favorite, after all.  
She called out for him, her voice echoing in the rotunda.  
No reply.  
She slowly crept toward the back, beginning to feel the heat of the volcano, when she was overshadowed by a dark presence.  
Him.

A literal shadow of his former self, the only thing she could recognize him from was the glowing red eyes. They were part of him now. He could never go back, and she did not know if she could, either.  
"Misako." Garmadon said, in a slow but booming voice, that she had yearned to hear for the past seven months.

"Montgomery?" she replied, only using that name to make sure it was really him.

"Yes." the booming voice replied. "Is the baby ours?"  
Misako slowly nodded. "Your son, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, was born a month ago, perfectly healthy."  
"Good." was his reply. "Please take care of him. Please keep him safe."

Misako tried to reach out to him, to tell him that she loved him, but he had disappeared back into the darkness. Her lantern went out, and there was another voice behind her.  
"Why did you bring the baby?" Wu cried, holding his own light. "Get out of here! It is not safe! For either of you!"  
Wu grabbed her arm, and led her out of the temple. Lloyd began to cry.  
"Are you insane?" Wu was somewhere between worried and angry. "You cannot bring Lloyd into the volcano! Do you have any idea what could have happened to him, or what could have happened to you?"  
"Lloyd is Garmadon's child. He deserved to meet him." she answered. Wu did not listen and ordered her to go back home with him.

A few years went by. Wu would not let her communicate with Garmadon. He no longer trusted his brother, even with his own family. Misako was beginning to wonder if she should have trusted Garmadon forty years ago, when they first met.  
She did not want Wu to watch her anymore. Lloyd was a toddler now, she could raise him on her own.

Now, back in her apartment in the city, she lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. To her left, a young blonde boy asking what was wrong. To her right, an old memory, now shattered.  
She was still in the dark, still heartbroken over the inevitable. Countless months of endless research, desperately trying to find a way to bring him back. She was not sure if he was even still alive, but she could still hope. 

Obsessing over a broken romance, she did not know how to care for their child. There was no time to guide her son if she wanted her husband back. Without a stable mind, she did not know if she could possibly be a good parent. There was only one place where his father's name was still celebrated. She left her son there, her back turned.

She got back to her apartment, now with an extra room.  
Misako was trapped in mourning, and Garmadon was trapped in revenge.

She had spent so much time desiring a love that was gone, without realizing there was a new love with her, one that could have stayed with her.

It became her biggest regret.  
She could not go back now. She would have no idea what to say. How to explain where his father was and the things he did.  
She did not know if her son would ever want to see her again.

Her longing for lost love pushed everyone away.  
She was alone, still hidden by heartbreak, not knowing if she could ever find a way back.


End file.
